Bookbinding



J. E. PITTS BOOKBINDING Jan. 29, 1935.

Filed Nov. 8, 1933 JNVENTOR.

TORNEX Patented Jan. 29, 1935 PATENT OFFICE BOOKBINDING Joseph EdwardPitts, Oakland, Calif.

Application November 8,

1933, Serial No. 697,126

6 Claims. (01. 281-21) My present invention relates to bookbinding, andmore particularly to anew .and improved method of stitching andsecuringthe leaves of a book together which "will provide a binding of greatflexibility.

An object of my invention is to provide an improved method of stitchingtheleaves :of abook together in'an' effective manner to produce astrong, durable and flexible binding; 1

Another object of my invention is toprovidemeans in a stitched bindingfor 'a book which will relieve the tension upon the individual. threadsof the stitching when the book is opened and produce a flexible bindingsr '1 i- Other objects and advantagesiof my. invention will be in'partpointed out and in part evident to those skilled in the art from thefollowing'"de-. scriptionthereof.

'In aprior art Patent Number-1,585,626, issued May 18, 1926, to Carl F.Brenna-there is disclosed.

a method of bookbinding wherein the book is divided into a numberofstitched'sections having sewed to each side thereof a gummed fabric,.bymeans of which the several sections can bese-F cured together. In thisdisclosure the'sections of the book are stitched together tightly' witha, straight stitching and then'secured in .book form by the gummedfabric. This formof binding has met "with considerable success inbinding work. However, the provision of gummed fabric upon each side ofthe sections of the'book, as disclosed in this patent, tends to stiffenthe binding so that when thebookis opened to an extreme position thefabric either pulls apartand/orithe threads of the isti'ching pull'therethr'ou'gh." Therefore, it is a further object of my invention-to'providea method of binding which'is an "improvement: over the abovedisclosure and that is well adapted to the binding of ledgers,bankch'eck books and the like, wherein a binding of great'flexibility'isrequired in order 'to permit a fiatopeningof books of this character forthe convenient writing of entries therein. I i

. In carrying outmy invention; I dividethe book .into a number ofsectionsand seweach section together, with a gummed fabric strip at oneside and preferably an-ungummed adhesivelrepelling and yielding fabricstrip .or cord .atthe ,other side, by staggered stitching, In thisa'rrangement the yielding fabric strip may begumrned, provided saidstriphas a yielding thickness which will also render the adhesion of thegum more or less yielding. The objectsof the-inventiomcan also beobtained without; the; summed: .fabr-ic strips bysecuring the sectionstogether by other means. 7

While the method of binding contemplated by my invention is adapted tothe binding of editionwork and the rebinding of all types of books, itwill be found particularly usefulin-binding account books andthe likewhich, for convenience, must be capable of lying flat when opened. One feld in which I have successfully used my method isin the binding of bankcheck books and, therefore, I shall describe my invention in connectiowith such books. In the drawing wherein I have shown, by way ofillustration and not of limitation, preferred embodiments of-myinvention;

Figure 1 is a perspectiveview of a bank check book with a corner brokenaway to disclose one arrangement contemplatedby my invention,

Figure 2 is a perspective view of thebank check book shown in Figure lwith the pages opened,

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view showing severalsections of the book as pulled apart to more clearly illustrate thearrangement thereof, and

Figure 4 is a view similar to-Figure 3 showing the use of a yieldingcord for relieving the tension and reinforcing the stitching when thebook is opened. f

In the drawing 10 designates the individual leaves of, a book and thenumerals l1 and 12 designate respectively the front and back covers ofthe book. The covers 11 and 12 are secured over the leaves of the bookby-a'back 13 of fabric, leather or other flexible'material. Inassembling the book=the leaves 10 are arranged in groups or sections andthe leaves of each section are sewed together by a staggered stitchingwith a thread 14. The expression staggered stitching, as used herein, isto be understood to mean a stitching wherein the threads pass throughneedle holes arranged in two rows along the line of the stitching andjump diagonally from one row of holes to the other as the stichingproceeds. This form of stitching is preferred as it crosses thelongitudinal fibers or threads-of the elements, which are to bedescribed hereinafter as combined in the stitching, and places thetension, resulting from an opening of the book, upon the alternatestitches. This form of stitching also provides a greater length ofthread than a straight stitching and--thereby lends further flexibilityto the bi n ,;."After-the leaves 10 of the book are collected insections, I sew them together with a gummed fabric tape 15 on one sideand a gummed or ungummed yielding fabric tape 16 on the other side. Thefabric tape 15 is disposed with its gummed surface away from the sectionof leaves to which it is sewed, and if a gummed yielding fabric tape 16is used its gummed surface willalso be disposed away from the leaves ofthe section. I prefer to use an ungummed and adhesive repelling yieldingfabric tape 16, as such a tape, owing to the absence of the gum or glue,has greater yielding characteristics. Instead: of the yielding fabrictape 16, I may also use a single cord 1'7, over which the loops of thethread 14 pass. This latter arrangement provides an extremely flexiblebinding when a heavy cotton or silk crochet yarn is used for the cord17.

When the several sections of the book leaves 10 are assembled together,in accordance with the. above outlined procedure, they can be secured inupon the stitching, by an opening of the book,

to the stitching of the section in which the opening occurs and becauseof the shortness of the stitches, where they pass through the section,the fabric tape 16 or the cord 1'7 can yield sufficiently to relieve anystrain upon the leaves 10' and the stitching. The fact that thestitching of each section of the finished book is independent of thestitching in the adjacent sections, and is limited to a small number ofleaves, permits the book to be opened flat, even to an extent which willbring the stitching into View, as shown in Figure 2 of the drawing. Whenthe book is opened flat, as

- shown in the drawing, the flexible gummed fabric tapes 15 between thesections will permit the individual sections of the book to adjustthemselves, with respect to each other, and the strain upon thestitching will exist only in the particular section of the book which isopened. Because of the relatively small number of leaves in eachsection, the particular form of stitching and the yielding fabric tape16'or the single yielding cord 17 will afford suiiicient give in thethreads of the stitching to prevent a tearing'of the leaves when thebook is opened flat in'any section. In practice, I have found that themost satisfactory results are obtained when the leaves 10 are sewed intosections that are not more than three-sixteenths of an inch inthickness.

The most convenient method of applying the gummed fabric tape 15 and theyielding fabric tape 16 or the yielding cord 1'7 to the leaves of eachsection is to feed these tapes, or the tape 15 and the, cord 17, fromsuitable rolls or spools disposed adjacent the sewing machine head.These tapes, or a tape and a cord, can then be fed along with thestitching as the sections are moved one behind the other under theneedle of the sewing machine. If a guide is provided for properlylocating the edge of the leaves 10 of each section on theline of thestitching, the gummed fabric tape 15 can also be directed into positionwith the same guide. The yielding fabric'tape 16 or the cord 17 can thenbe located in line with the stitching at the top of the section byforming a groove in the underside of the presser foot upon the head ofthe sewing machine; If this procedure is followed a number ofsectionscan be sewed in acontinuous succession, after which'the tapes 15and 16, or the tape 15 and the cord 17, can be cut to permit a stackingof the sections.

Upon referring to Figure 3 of the drawing, it will be seen that theyielding tape 16 is about one half as wide as the gummed fabric tape 15.The difference in the widths of these tapes permits the gummed fabrictape 15 to overlie the flexible fabric tape 16 and contact the top leafof the underlying section to thereby secure the two sections together.At this point it will appear that the gummed fabric tape 15 will firmlyadhere to the yielding tape 16. This will not be true, however, if theyielding tape 16 is of loose weave and cerized fabric, as these fabricswill not adhere:

firmly to the gummed surface of the fabric tape '15. Upon referring toFigure 4 of the drawing, it will be seen that thecord 17 is disposedbetween the rows or holes formed in the leaves of the sec-= tion by thesewingneedle and that the threads cross back and forth over the topthereof. Under these conditions, the cord 17, in addition to forming ayielding surface for the stitches, also serves to reinforce the top leafof each section in no less an effective manner than does the yieldingtape 16.

While I have, for the sake of clearness and in order to disclose theinvention so that it can be readily understood, described andillustrated spe-' cific devices and arrangements, I desire to have itunderstood that thisinvention' is not limited to the specificmeansdisclosed, but may be embodied in other ways that will suggestthemselves to persons skilled in the art. It is believed that thisinvention is new and it isdesired to claim it so that all'changes ascome within the scope of the appended-claims are to be considered aspart of this invention.

Having-thus described my invention, what I claim .and'desire to secureby Letters Patent is I '1. An improved bookbinding comprising incombination a plurality of; sections of leaves having a narrow ungummedtension relieving fabric tape on one side andawide gummed fabric tape onthe other side, all of which are sewed together with a staggeredstitching, said plurality of sections being superimposed upon eachother'and adhesively secured together by the gummed fabric tape at apointremoved inwardly from the stitch- 2. An improved bookbindingcomprising in combination a plurality of sections of leaves having anarrow tension relievingsilk tape on one side and a wide fabric tapewith an exposed gummed surface on the other side, all of which are sewedtogether with a staggeredstitching, said plurality of sections beingsuperimposed upon each other. and adhesively secured together by thefree irmer edge of the gummed fabric tape at a point removed inwardlyfrom the stitching.

3. An improved bookbinding comprising in combination a plurality of booksections having a fabric tape with an exposed gummed surface sewed toone side thereof by a staggered stitching, whereby two or more of saidsections may be adhesively secured together by said tapes whensuperimposed one upon another, and a stitch tension relieving tape atthe other side of each of said sections and disposed beneath thestitching thereof.

4. In an improved binding for books and the like, the combination of aplurality of sections of leaves, a relatively wide fabric. tape havingan exposed gummed surface sewed to one side of each of said sectionswith a staggered stitching, and an adhesive repelling fabric at theother side of each of said sections also secured thereto by saidstitching, whereby a number of said sections may be superimposed uponeach other and adhesively secured together by said gummed tape at apoint removed inwardly from said stitching.

5. In an improved binding for books and the like, the combination-of aplurality of sections of leaves, a relatively wide gummed fabric tapesewed to one side of each of said sections with a staggered stitching,and a tension relieving and adhesive repelling tape at the other side ofeach of said sections also secured thereto by said stitching, whereby anumber of sections may be superimposed upon each other and adhesivelysecured together independently of said stitching.

6. In an improved binding for books and the like, the combination of aplurality of book sections each comprising a relatively small number ofleaves, said sections being independently stitched together, means foradhesively securing said-stitched sections together to form a completebook, and means for preventing adhesion between the book sections alongthe line of the stitching of each section.

JOSEPH EDWARD PI'I'IS.

